Laser Sintering of Greens Compacts of MoSi2

In this study, the results of the feasibility of sintering green compacts of metallic powder of MoSi2 by a CO2 laser beam as the heating source has been investigated. The main advantage of this technique is to promote a dense material in a reduced time when compared to the conventional sintering process. In order to sintering the MoSi2 powder, green compacts of 6mm of diameter and 1.6mm thickness were produced in a steel die in a uniaxial press at 100MPa and after, isostatic pressed at 350MPa. The micrograph of the samples exposed to the laser radiation performed by scanning electron microcopy (SEM) reveal the efficiency of the sintering process and the X-ray diffraction of the powders confirmed the presence of single phase after and before laser processing. The average microhardness of these compacts reached near to 700 Hv0.2 in the cross section to the laser irradiation, indicating the all sintering of the green compact.